Directorial debut ‘Villas’ wins Simorgh

The jury panel for Fajr Film Festival has awarded a Crystal Simorgh to Iranian female director Monir  Qeidi for her directorial debut ‘Villas’.

Monir Qeidi snagged a Crystal Simorgh for Best First Film Director for her film. VFX supervisor Mohammad Ghasemi also grabbed Crystal Simorgh for Best Visual Effects at the event for ‘Villas’. He was involved in creating visual effects for the Iranian movie ‘Villas’ which competed at Fajr Film Festival.

‘Villas’ chronicles happenings to wives of Iran army commanders at the time of Iraq-Iran war. It is filmed in residential villas for army forces in southern Iran and set in Persian calendar years between1362 and 1363.

Making her feature directorial debut with ‘Villas’, Ms. Monir Qeidi has worked as a script supervisor and an assistant director of several films. She has also made short films such as ‘ Girl, Boy and the Old Man’ and ‘On the Way to Villa’ as well as the documentary ‘Tehran, the City of Plane Trees’.

The closing ceremony of 35th Fajr Film Festival was held on Thursday with Crystal Simorgh awards given to best nominees in each competitive category of the event.

Fajr Festivals are held annually in Iran during the Fajr Decade (literally meaning ten days of dawn), which marks the anniversary of the ten days from the return of Imam Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, to Iran (February 1) until the victory day of the Islamic Revolution (February 11) in 1979.

Established in 1982, the Fajr International Film Festival celebrates cultural exchange, displays creative achievements of highly acclaimed cineastes and pays tribute to local and international films.

Since its establishment, the Fajr Film Festival has played a vital role in the development of Iranian Cinema.

AG/AG